Mother convicted for kidnapping her daughter in south Africa
Mother convicted: More than a year after her six-year-old daughter disappeared, a South African woman received a conviction for kidnapping and trafficking her child.
Police arrested Kelly Smith and her partners Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn after her daughter vanished from outside her Saldanha Bay residence near Cape Town during February of the previous year.
A court ruled Appollis and Rhyn guilty of kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin on Friday. The trio initially entered not guilty pleas to stand trial for these charges.
Joshlin’s disappearance created widespread shock throughout South Africa yet she remains unfound despite extensive public searches.
The March trial saw prosecutors charge Smith with having “sold, delivered or exchanged” Joshlin before falsely reporting her disappearance.
Smith started wiping away tears from her eyes after hearing the guilty verdict but Van Rhyn quickly smiled for no apparent reason.
The packed courtroom erupted into applause while some spectators started crying.
Judge Nathan Erasmus presided over the case and previously mentioned that the trial took place at Saldanha’s Multipurpose Centre because this location would allow community members to attend the proceedings.
Police officers occupied the area around the centre just before the verdict while authorities closed nearby roads.
Throughout South Africa the trial gained widespread attention through shocking allegations presented by witnesses and prosecutors.
Lourentia Lombaard who became a state witness delivered the most explosive testimony although she was Smith’s friend and neighbour.
According to Ms. Lombaard Smith told her she had performed “something silly” before selling Joshlin to a sangoma.
Ms. Lombaard reported to the court that the alleged abductor of Joshlin desired her eyes and skin.
The local pastor shared that in 2023 he listened to Smith, a mother of three children, discuss selling her offspring for 20,000 rand ($1,100; £850) per child but mentioned she would accept $275 instead.
Joshlin’s teacher reported in court that Smith admitted to her during the search that her daughter had been placed “on a ship, inside a container, and they were en route to West Africa”.
Rinesh Sivnarain, the attorney representing Smith challenged the credibility of these allegations. He pointed to discrepancies in Ms Lombaard’s statements which prosecution observers acknowledged and accused her of being an opportunist.
During the trial neither the defendants called any witnesses nor did they testify themselves.
South Africa legally recognizes sangomas under the Traditional Health Practitioners Act 2007 as well as herbalists, traditional birth attendants and traditional surgeons.
Certain unethical individuals sell fake traditional remedies and special good luck charms that contain body parts.
The accusation that Smith had talked about selling her daughter and struggled with drug problems has initiated discussions regarding child vulnerability within South Africa’s impoverished areas.
Parents living in Joshlin’s community of Middelpos continue to express their worries about their children’s safety to local media reporters one year after the young girl went missing.
